[Federal Register: August 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 165)]
[Notices]
[Page 54818-54819]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26au02-62]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Incidental Take Permit and Habitat Conservation Plan for AT&T
Corporation
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: AT&T Corporation (Applicant) has applied to the Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act). The Service proposes to issue a 10-year permit that would
authorize take (e.g., harm and harassment) of the endangered Point
Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra) incidental to otherwise
lawful activities. Such take would occur as the result of construction
to connect an existing fiber optic conduit to the AT&T Point Arena
Cable Station located near Manchester, Mendocino County, California.
We request comments from the public on the permit application which
includes a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Point Arena mountain
beaver. We also request comments on our preliminary determination that
the HCP qualifies as a ``low-effect'' habitat conservation plan,
eligible for a categorical exclusion from additional documentation
under the National Environmental Policy Act.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before September 25,
2002.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mr. Bruce G. Halstead, Project
Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata,
California, 95521. Comments may also be sent by facsimile to (707) 822-
8411.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Hunter, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, at the above address or call (707) 822-7201.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Document Availability
The permit application, HCP, and the Service's low-effect HCP
screening form are available for public review. The HCP describes the
proposed project and the measures that the Applicant would undertake to
minimize and mitigate take of Point Arena mountain beavers. The
screening form describes the basis for the Service's preliminary
determination that the HCP qualifies as a low effect plan eligible for
a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Please contact the above office if you would like copies of the
application, HCP and screening form. Documents will also be available
for review, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address. All comments we receive, including names and addresses, will
become part of the administrative record and may be released to the
public.
Background
Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take''
of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. Take
of listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act to include kill,
harm, or harass. The Service may, under limited circumstances, issue
permits to authorize incidental take; i.e., take that is incidental to,
and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activity. Regulations
governing incidental take permits for threatened and endangered species
are found in 50 CFR 17.32 and 50 CFR 17.22, respectively.
The Applicant has applied to the Service for a section 10(a)(1)(B)
incidental take permit for the point Arena mountain beaver, on the AT&T
Point Arena Cable Station, in Mendocino County, California. The term of
the permit would be 10 years. The AT&T Cable Station consists of 11.2
acres of privately-owned land located approximately 1 mile northwest of
the town of Manchester. Prior to the listing of the Point Arena
mountain beaver, three 5-inch-diameter steel bore pipes were installed
below the surface of the ground from a point offshore of the cable
station in the Pacific Ocean to a point about 88 feet from the north
side of the cable station building. An occupied Point Arena mountain
beaver burrow system is located 30 feet north from the end of the bore
pipes. The Applicant proposes to install an access vault at this
location, trench and bury cable conduit for 77 feet, and then install a
manhole at the end of the cable conduit. The Applicant may then utilize
this system by placing fiber optic cables in these pipes and conduits.
The Service considers this project to entail take of Point Arena
mountain beaver since noise and vibration disturbance and habitat loss
will occur near occupied burrows.
The AT&T Cable Station is composed of structures, a parking lot,
access roads, occupied Point Arena mountain beaver habitat and
unoccupied potential habitat. The occupied, and some of the unoccupied,
habitat consists of stabilized dunes dominated by bush lupine (Lupinus
arboreus) and other coastal scrub and coastal strand species
[[Page 54819]]
such as coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), coast goldenrod (Solidago
spathulata), ice-plant (Carpobrotus sp.), and other mixed grasses and
forbs. Much of the currently unoccupied habitat consists of non-native,
invasive conifers including Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) and Monterey
cypress (Cypress macrocarpa). Habitat in the surrounding areas are
similar, although there are large areas of unsuitable agricultural
pasture lands.
The proposed project will permanently remove approximately 15
square feet of suitable but currently unoccupied habitat, and cause
about 7 days of non-breeding season disturbance of all mountain beavers
on about 0.25 acre of occupied habitat. There may also be 1 day of
breeding season disturbance on the same 0.25 acre while fiber optic
cables are pulled through the pipes and conduits. Mitigation for the
HCP involves rehabilitation and maintenance of 1 acre of unoccupied and
currently unsuitable habitat presently covered by non-native conifers.
This rehabilitation work will cause disturbance for an additional 3 to
5 days during the non-breeding season and will affect all Point Arena
mountain beaver associated with approximately 3 acres of occupied
habitat.
As described in the HCP, the Applicant proposes the following
measures to minimize and mitigate the anticipated project impacts: (A)
All construction (except cable pulling) and habitat rehabilitation work
will occur outside of the Point Arena mountain beaver breeding season
(December 15 to June 30) and during daylight hours; (B) an 8-foot-high,
3/4-inch-wide plywood sound barrier will be placed between the
construction and the occupied habitat; (C) vibratory compactors will
only be used at the proposed manhole location; (D) areas altered by
trenching will be restored as much as possible to a prework condition;
(E) all activities including entry of personnel into the occupied
habitats will be closely supervised by a biological monitor; and (F)
material from cut conifers will be disposed off site.
Monitoring of the mountain beaver population at the entire Cable
Station site will consist of two surveys per year, every other year,
for 10 years. The methods for this monitoring will closely follow a
methodology and a layout which have been in place on this site since
1992, and will thereby contribute to the only long-term monitoring
program for this subspecies. In addition, counts of burrow openings in
areas rehabilitated by non-native conifer removal will also occur on
the same schedule in order to assess the effectiveness of the
mitigation.
The Service's Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an
incidental take permit and implementation of the HCP, which includes
measures to minimize and mitigate impacts of the project on Point Arena
mountain beaver. One alternative to the taking of listed species under
the Proposed Action is considered in the HCP. Under the No Action
Alternative, no permit would be issued. However, this alternative would
result in an economic burden to the Applicant and no Point Arena
mountain beaver habitat rehabilitation would occur.
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the HCP
qualifies as a ``low effect'' plan as defined by its Habitat
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). The Service
determination that a habitat conservation plan qualifies as a low-
effect plan is based on the following criteria: (1) Implementation of
the plan would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the plan would result in minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the
plan, considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects would not result,
over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
which would be considered significant. As more fully explained in the
Screening Form for Low-Effect HCP Determinations, the Applicant's HCP
for the Point Area Cable Station qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan for
the following reasons:
1. Approval of the HCP would result in minor or negligible
effects to the Point Arena mountain beaver. The Service does not
anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the Point
Arena mountain beaver resulting from the proposed construction. No
other federally listed, proposed, or candidate species are known or
expected to occur within or immediately adjacent to the proposed
construction.
2. Approval of the HCP would not have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
3. Approval of the HCP would not result in any cumulative or
growth inducing impacts and, therefore, will not result in
significant adverse effects on public health or safety.
4. The project does not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor does it
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local, or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
5. Approval of the HCP would not establish a precedent for
future action or represent a decision in principle about future
actions with potentially significant environmental effects.
The Service therefore has made a preliminary determination that
approval of the HCP qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the
National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of
Interior Manual (516 DM2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Based
on this preliminary determination, we do not intend to prepare further
National Environmental Policy Act documentation. The Service will
consider public comments in making its final determination on whether
to prepare such additional documentation.
The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the
Act. We will evaluate the permit application, the HCP, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If the requirements are met,
the Service will issue a permit for the incidental take of the Point
Arena mountain beaver from the proposed construction project. We will
make the final permit decision no sooner than 30 days from the date of
this notice.
Dated: August 19, 2002.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 02-21603Filed 8-23-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P